This is one of the most important messages AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA has ever sent.  A phone call now could prevent an election promise from being broken.  If you are reading this as an e-mail, please click on www.airsafety.com.au/promise.htm to get the most current version. This situation is changing rapidly!

The sound of breaking promises

Prior to the election, we Australians were given a clear choice about the airspace system we wanted. Labor said it would roll-back the NAS (introduced on 27th November 2003). The coalition said it would continue with the staged implementation of NAS.

The alternatives offered by the two contenders were clear and remarkably unambiguous. It was on that basis that I wrote to all members of AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA prior to the election suggesting a vote for the coalition in 147 seats out of 150. AOPA, on a similar basis, recommended a vote for the coalition in all 150 seats.

After taking all promises (including aviation) into account the Australian people voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Coalition. At that stage all discussion about the rights and wrongs of airspace systems was over. A clear choice had been put to the Australian people and they had emphatically said they wanted NAS.

We therefore have every right to expect the coalition to implement ALL its promises, not just SOME of them (no time was lost, for example, in implementing the promise about tighter security at airports).

Yet only 5 days after the election it became apparent that the coalition was having second thoughts about its promise about airspace. The wording of the promise was:

“A Coalition Government will continue to modernise Australia's airspace system through the continued staged implementation of the National Airspace System (NAS). … Furthermore, it will deliver … greater freedom of movement for visual flight rule [VFR] flights” (see www.airsafety.com.au/avpol04lcp/ for the entire policy).

Airservices Australia, the arm of government which administers airspace, is paying absolutely no attention to that promise. Airservices plans to create huge new areas of class C airspace on 25th November 2004 which will greatly reduce the freedom of movement for VFR flights. In fact the plans for 25th November as a whole amount to a reversal of NAS.

You can see a description of the proposed roll-back at
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/pilotcentre/training/nas/default.asp (especially the link Information Booklet )

You can call Airservices on 02 6268 4111 and ask if they intend to go ahead with the roll-back of NAS as outlined in AIC H13/04 and the colour brochure. They are saying they are going ahead with that roll-back.

Call your coalition MP and/or Senators

Please do this. No-one likes being accused of breaking a promise, so the pollie you call is highly likely to contact the Minister and press him hard NOT to break the Coalition's promise.

As at 5pm on Tuesday 19th October, no MP had either denied or confirmed that the changes of 25th November would go ahead. However a good number of staffers had confirmed that they would, offering a variety of excuses. This obviously means that the Coalition is testing the water to see how much of a problem there will be if they break their promise. The more of a hard time we give the coalition MPs the less likely they will break their promise.

THE EXCUSES

Excuse 01 “We would like to stick to our promise, but for legal reasons it’s impossible”.
What a whopper! Are you seriously saying that the Howard government made a promise which it was legally unable to fulfil?

Excuse 02 “The windback of 25th November will itself be wound back in future”
Pull the other one, mate. That would be downright unsafe. Your promise was that you would CONTINUE to modernise – not that you would go back and forward like a sewing machine. In any event the pilot community’s ability to absorb change and learn new procedures is already at breaking point.

Excuse 03 “Airservices won’t co-operate”
So what has changed since last week? Are you saying that the Howard government made a promise it was unable to fulfil? It is normal and natural for a bureaucracy to do all it can to make jobs, and to frustrate attempts to increase efficiency.

Excuse 04 "The changes of 25th November are enhancements, not a roll-back"
Oh, really? Well that's not what Airservices' own Barrister said in Court on 21st September. He repeatedly referred to the changes as a "roll back", saying for example "As your Honour will appreciate the decision to roll back, as my friend has indicated, was based as a result of a lengthy safety assessment ..." (Click here for the entire transcript).

Excuse 05 “The Board of Airservices will not be re-appointed”
But we want results, not revenge. Please keep your promise.

If you get any excuses like these from government, please Click here to tell AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA about it. Tell us what the excuse was and who made it.

THE TIMING

THE SITUATION DETERIORATES RAPIDLY FROM 20th OCTOBER

Then on Thursday 21st I came upon a copy of a letter from the Minister's chief of Staff to Airservices chiding them for disclosing what was said in a private meeting (see www.airsafety.com.au/ea21plas.htm for a copy of that letter).

Thank goodness for Dick Smith's Court action, because otherwise we would never have known of the Minister's assurance to Airservices.  However, in the light of that assurance there seems no point in Dick continuing his legal action, because if the Minister is determined to roll NAS back he will find a way to do it even if the Court stops Airservices doing it for him.

So there, sadly, we see it all.  Despite the election promises of continuing with NAS, despite the public statements on our side, in private the Minister was assuring Airservices he would not issue a Direction to prevent them rolling NAS back.

On Friday 22nd October Dick Smith withdrew his court action against Airservices. The same day John Anderson was re-appointed Minister for Transport.